Ad Nut
Jul 8, 2024

'Sport is stranger than fiction': Meet the unlikely stars in The Monkeys campaign

Top Australian sports retailer Rebel unearths the most inspiring sports stories you have probably never heard of.

Ad Nut is a bit on the podgy side these days. Too many nuts and not enough exercise. That mid-life slump has been hard to break out of. 
 
But there's hope... or so we’re told by Rebel, Australia’s top-selling sports retailer, with their latest campaign that focuses on the athletic journeys of everyday Australians whose lives have been transformed by sport. 
 
One film shows how outback swimmer Brendan Cullen swam his way out of a drought, and another tells the inspiring story of Sinead Diver, the 'never-too-late athlete', who at 47 years old is running for gold in Olympic marathons.
 
 
The campaign is the latest instalment of Rebel's 'Sport is Calling' brand platform, which was formed in 2020. This latest iteration, created by The Monkeys (part of Accenture Song), carries the message that sports have the power to transform lives.
 
“Brendan and Sinead’s stories demonstrate Rebel’s belief that sport can be the catalyst for incredible change and growth in our lives. Not just physically, but mentally too,” said rebel general manager eCommerce and marketing Rosemary Martin.
 
“Sport really is stranger than fiction,” added The Monkeys’ creative director Adam Slater.
 
“Whether it’s a farmer who dealt with a drought by swimming laps of the dam or a 47-year-old IT professional turned national record holder, we’ve loved unearthing the best sports stories Australia has never heard of.”
 
All these very inspiring people might actually be the push that Ad Nut needs to break that mid-life slump and take up a sport. Rumour has it that squirrels make excellent gymnasts. Watch out, Paris 2024...
 
Credits:
 
Client: rebel
Chief marketing officer: Rosemary Martin
Head of marketing: Brock Coleman
Content director: Catherine Makinson
Marketing specialist: Beth Thom
 
Creative agency: The Monkeys, part of Accenture Song
Chief executive officer: Paul McMillan
Chief creative officer: Ant Keogh
Chief strategy officer: Michael Derepas
Strategy director: Dave Collins
Chief client officer: Jaimee Kerr
Head of design: Raph Tamkalis
Creative directors: Adam Slater and Connor Beaver
 
Art director: Ben Horewood
Copywriter: Michelle Canning
National head of production: Romanca Mundrea
Senior producer: Simone O’Connor & Katherine Muir
Account director: Ella Goldberg
Account manager: Eden French-Putu 
 
Production Company: Finch
Director: Chris Nelius 
Managing director: Corey Esse
Producer: Anna-Tara Sneddon
DOP: James Brown, Max WalterPost 
 
Ad Nut is a surprisingly literate woodland creature that for unknown reasons has an unhealthy obsession with advertising. Ad Nut gathers ads from all over Asia and the world for your viewing pleasure, because Ad Nut loves you. You can also check out Ad Nut's Advertising Hall of Fame, or read about Ad Nut's strange obsession with 'murderous beasts'.
 
Source:
Campaign Asia

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